I love my third Gen. because it has a lot more "creature comforts" than my older 22RE p/u.

I'm talking heated seats, power everything and a sweet sound system to boot. I would go for a '99-'02.

 

Nate, check out xcmountain80's (Aaron) 4Runner on post 15 of this thread:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/n...d-pics-131377/

You can see pictures of how he mounted his RTT. PM him if you have any questions about his install.

 

3rd Gen. Even if it maxes out your budget to just get one and keep it stock for a while, still vote for 3rd Gen, preferably with a rear locker. If I didn't need a truck bed, I'd still have my 3rd Gen.

If you decide to look for a Tacoma, watch out for 95.5-00, because they lacked frame support near the bed and some have known to have had frame failures. LINK You can get frame reinforcements, so if the frame is still in good shape, it will be a good precautionary measure to take.

 

check Yakima's "control towers + landing pads" comb. my 2nd gen didn't even come with factor rack/rails. i put on a pair of Yakima rails and mounted the control towers, it worked great with Coleman basket. same applies to 3rd gen. these landing pads can be mounted directly on to factory rails

i can take few pictures for you.

 

You can also mount yakima/thule bars over the doors (q-towers and clips needed for the Yakima version), either alone or as an extra bar for a long basket. Mounting to the stock roof rails (using control towers) gives a cleaner look (IMHO). Finally for quick and cheap solution you could use Yakimas Mighty Mounts to attach stuff to the stock load bars/rack.

 

Those of you mounting to the factory rails, do you feel the rails are up to the task for holding a RTT? From the links people have provided (thanks by the way) it appears that people are doing it, so I'll assume they are pretty strong. As it happens, my father-in-law had a 3rd gen and still has all the roof rack parts for his, hmmmmm, how am I going to con him out of those parts

 

montana nate- the Navy guy-ritzy has it all correct. The 2nd gens were a big improvement over GEN1s but very truck like. The 3rd gens are just so dang comfy and the power improvements are too much fun if you like to press the go pedal. The drivers seat alone is a huge improvement, so are the headlights.

There is a guy in Chicago right now with the Super Charged 99Runner for $10K-check out t4r.org for more 3rd gen fanatics.

I also had a 95 2nd GEN-mine had the 22Re and you may have read me bragging about getting 20 mpg in the city so long as I watched my manners when leaving from stoplights. I can achieve the same thing in my 99 now with the 3.4V6, again only if I can control my right foot's weight. My new one is only an SR5 but to me is "hard loaded" with every goodie I could ever want-okay I have hood scoop envy yes. Loved the old one and yes I do think it was a bit more "solid"-but the new one is beautiful to look at and to drive.

Leather seats/locker engaged/dog in the back -I am a simple guy and this is what makes me happy.

 

If you have any doubt, just shoot xcmountain80 (Aaron) a PM and I'm sure he'll give you the pros and cons of mounting an RTT on top of a 3rd gen. He owns an RTT (or at least did), so he should know 1st hand how well they work on a 3rd gen.

 

Second Gen all the way! You could Get a 3.0 or the rare 2.4! But if you want raw toyota power get a 3.0. People say they are slow and sluggish but uh if you keep them tuned up they are great.
_____________________________________________
95 Toyota 4runner SR5 V6 3.0 Automatic 150,000 Miles

 

I'm officially on the "hunt" for a 3rd Gen now! Funny how some people don't seem like they WANT to sell their trucks when they are up for sale. I call or email, ask specific logical questions and they either act like I'm putting them out to describe the trucks condition or get one liners like ....." here's a pic" and then nothing addressing any questions. I don't get it. My favorite is when they don't post ANY pics in their ad, I request a few pics and they say "trust me, it's nice" ..... great, where do I send the $$, it'll be right there!

Thanks for all the feedback guys, this seems like a great site, I'm glad I came across it and signed up!

 

Definitely 2nd gen.

Wanna buy mine?

From what you've said you want to do with it, a low-mileage 2nd gen (are there any still out there?) would do the trick, but you're much more likely to find a 3rd gen with low-er mileage from which you'll get a much longer return on your investment. And be more comfortable. And have more power.

All that being said, I still love my '95. It does what I need it to do, and I prefer its exterior design to all others, which is why when and if the time comes I'll consider re-powering it.

 

i'm not sure how to delete a post, so this is as close as i can get

 

Go w/the Gen 3. I own one and wouldn't have it any other way (well id get a gen 1) But if you go w/the Gen 2 you can swap in a 22RE or buy 1 with it. My gen 3 does everything i want it 2 jumps and crawls. I'd personaly like to have manual hubs, but thats just me.